Moral infections are just as contagious and damaging as physical ones.
Merging with the Barnacles causes the Merdle name to spread. Nobody knows his business, but he is considered to be a great man.
Mrs. Plornish now runs a grocery store. Maggy and Mr. Nandy are her assistants. Mr. Plornish owns a share in a builder's business, and he often hears the Merdle name. Some in the Bleeding Heart Yard are saving to invest in Mr. Merdle's ventures, dreaming of becoming rich. The women admire Mrs. Merdle. Mr. Merdle is considered to be a man of virtue.
Mr. Pancks doesn't find it any easier to collect rent. Everyone wishes Mr. Merdle was their landlord, for he wouldn't worry about due rent.
Mr. Pancks often visits the Plornish family. They remind him of Little Dorrit and brighten his day. Mrs. P
